My gov’t won’t have more than 40 ministers – Nduom

Presidential Candidate of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom says his government – if he wins the December 7 elections – will not exceed 40 ministers.

According to him, running a lean government is what Ghana requires currently.

The businessman-cum-politician expressed worry how state resources are used to run political party activities, a situation he says crumbled the economy in 2012 and it is likely to do same after this year.

“We need to stop and we will stop the use of state funds to fund campaigns.” Dr Nduom expressed these sentiments on Tuesday, November 22 during the Presidential Town Hall organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).

The Presidential Town Hall is a series of debates organized for 2016 presidential candidates by IEA.

The first of the series – which had three candidates participating – took place in Accra at the Kempinski Hotel. It is themed: ‘Reinforcing the Pillars of Ghana’s Democracy’.

Independent Presidential Candidate Jacob Osei Yeboah and People’s National Convention’s Dr Edward Nasigre Mahama were the other candidates on Tuesday evening’s encounter.

Dr Nduom expressed disappointment in President John Mahama for not showing up at the debate, saying he has supervised over a collapsing economy in the past years. Dr Nduom maintained that running a relatively large government given his experience as an entrepreneur is cause of the economic woes of the country. “We must be lean,” he stressed.

He also posited that borrowing to fund “showcase projects” is a bane to a buoyant economy. He said his government will ensure that it does not borrow “to pay for fancy flyovers”.

He called for empowerment of local businesses if the economy can return to buoyancy. Dr Mahama called for a reduction in interest rates to allow local businesses to thrive.

He also recommended measures to motivate fresh graduates to go into agriculture. Mr Yeboah was worried the country is running an “expensive democracy”, a situation he attributes to the Winner-Takes-All syndrome. He preached an all-inclusive government if voted for in December.